100 Things

1. I'm a happy person
2. except after work, I'm usually crabby
3. unless I hear a good song on the way home
4. I drink a cup of herbal tea every morning
5. it’s very relaxing
6. I would recommend it
7. I think I might have ADD
8. I don't talk on the phone very much
9. I like it that way
10. I have chronic dry skin
11. I think it's really the only thing I am self conscious about
12. that and the sound of my voice on the answering machine (is that really what I sound like?)
13. I love my dog
14. in a sickening kind of way
15. I love candy
16. also in a sickening kind of way
17. Russell is my best friend
18. he cracks me up
19. I like camping
20. I love camp fire
21. Spring is my favorite season
22. because it is shorts and sweatshirt weather
23. I'm excited to run a half marathon this year
24. I'm also a little scared
25. I am a list maker
26. I like grocery shopping late at night
27. because no one else is there
28. I hate grocery shopping after work
29. I hate grocery shopping without a list
30. I am competitive
31. I like fishing
32. I don't like touching the fish after it's caught
33. I keep a calendar
34. It makes me feel not so crazy
35. I love stationary
36. I love to cook Italian
37. I like being able to throw in the spices
38. I like trying new recipes
39. but I like tweaking old ones more
40. we only go to Costco for steak
41. I have never gotten flowers
42. I'm really okay with that
43. I can't wait to have a garden
44. someday I want to have speakers in every room of my house
45. so I can hear the music wherever I am cleaning up
46. I own a pair of ropers
47. I still have a pair of Dr. Martin boots that I got for Christmas when I was in 8th grade
48. I still wear them
49. I wore them yesterday in fact
50. I love my car
51. I'm selling my car
52. I'm okay with it
53. I take Otis with me pretty much everywhere
54. unless Russell is home
55. I love having a big family
56. I've never broken a bone
57. I have given myself a black eye
58. I hate the smell of vanilla candles
59. They make me feel sick to my stomach
60. like I ate too much candy
61. I always shared a room with Bride
62. Sometimes I feel bad about how I used to boss her
63. not very often though
64. I forced her to learn cursive at a very young age
65. forced her
66. It has been said that one time I threw Bridget in the air and kneed her in the back when she came down
67. When Bride would get hurt and start to cry, I would try to talk her out of it
68. I would say, tough it out, tough it out, tough it out
69. and she would
70. when we lived in Chicago, we used to tip our bikes over and pretend they were cars
71. I also used to have a reoccurring dream that I would get in the car and it would start rolling down the driveway
72. Our driveway was really steep
73. One time it was covered in ice and our van couldn't get up and Dad was out of town
74. Zach and I tried to shovel it
75. I don't think we were successful
76. I like to vacuum
77. I love to empty the container and see all the crap it picks up
78. I hate sweeping
79. I like to make sandwiches for Russell
80. because he likes everything on it
81. I like to pour my soda in a tall glass with ice
82. only because it makes me drink slower
83. I always hiccup after my first drink of soda
84. I think I breathe it in or something
85. I pay all the bills
86. and I like it that way
87. I can't wait to finish school
88. I love bologna
89. I love fresh Parmesan cheese
90. none of that powdered stuff
91. is that even real?
92. I love Kraft Mac & Cheese
93. I love the library
94. I love museums
95. I would like to live in the city
96. not permanently (because I can't have a cow) but for a while
97. I'm serious about the cow
98. I like to give blood
99. I love having an iPod
100. I can't believe I thought of 100 things

Come on, everyone is doing it.

I'm sorry this is going to be a boring post.

At the beginning of the week I always have such lofty goals. Some weeks I do everything on my list. Some weeks, well, not even close. It's okay though. I like having a direction, whether I get where I wanted to go or not. Anyway, I just wanted to write down a couple of my things for this week. I'm joining the rec center at school again this semester. It's cheap and it's close to home so I really have no excuse. I wasn't going before because I feel bad running on a treadmill when I could do it outside for free and bring Otis along (have I told you this before? it feels like I have). It doesn't matter anymore. I'm going to have to make time to go to the rec center and take Otis to the school to run around. I have a plan for accomplishing this task. I am going to the rec center right after work. It's the only way. If I go home first, especially if Russ is already home, forget it. Then straight to the school, right after the workout. I hate feeling like I am in a rush and I will be rushing a little but then the rest of my evening will be free to, well, to study. It's only Monday but I've already gotten a lot done. I returned our library books and (drum roll, please) I turned in my application to Boise State's Nursing program. I should hear from them May/June. Cross your fingers for me, will ya? On Wednesday we have an inspection on the house, make sure it's all good. On Thursday we have a meeting with some debt councilor (condition of our loan). And I have a test on Tuesday so I really need to get to studying.

Like I said, boring.

Sorry for being away so long. We've been pretty busy around here lately. We found a house that we really like. This is the picture posted online. It's a little dreary but you get the idea. We went and looked at it and we've made an offer on it. It's not a totally done deal yet but it's getting close. It's two bedrooms and one bathroom. There is a little patio on the side. It's about 3 miles away from school and it's really close to the Greenbelt around the river. The seller says that when he runs along the river in the morning, he sees deer. He also says that it's faster to bike to school than it is to drive. He is desperate to sell before the end of March so we should know what's up for sure by Monday.

Eric and Paola came all the way up from Las Vegas just to visit us for the long weekend. It was so much fun. They got here just in time for dinner on Thursday night. Otis was pretty psyched to see Max, you can tell in picture number 1. I don't think I truly captured Max's size in any pictures all weekend. He is so big.

On Friday we went up to Bogus Basin to go tubing. We planned on snowboarding but it rained that night so conditions were not ideal. Paola and I had really gotten excited about tubing. In the end, it was sort of a bummer. Russell and I decided we need to open up a grown up tubing hill.

On Saturday Paola and I walked around downtown and went out for lunch and we went and saw Music and Lyrics. Saturday night we all went and saw a hockey game. It was actually very entertaining plus I had a pretzel with some of that fake cheese, doesn't get any better than that.

We had a nice relaxing vacation. Fun but not too busy. I hope Eric and Paola had a good time too.

So, Sunday we took the dogs up to Idaho City. Don't be fooled. Idaho City is no city, it's hardly a town. Anyway, we just wanted to take Max up to the snow. We were headed down the highway and Max and Otis were in the back of the truck. We have never put Otis in the back of the truck. He was a little, well, worried. A loud motorcycle drove by and Otis jumped in the back window and was trying to hide under our feet. What a baby.

Paola was so happy. It started to snow while we were up there. She admitted that she had never seen snow fall in real life. Can you believe that? I think Max had fun. You should have seen this 180 lb. dog galloping in the snow. It was fun.

Okay, I have a bit of catching up to do. I'll start most recently. Eric and Paola came up from Vegas to visit. It was fun. A vacation. Relaxing. They went home on Monday mid-morning and Russell and I hopped in the truck and took a drive to Clearwater. There is absolutely nothing there and it's pretty far north. We took highway 55 and it is very scenic so it wasn't a bad drive.

Did I mention the reason for the drive? Russell bought a Scout. It's a 1963 International. It's not as cool as Trav's, it has the small 4 cylinder engine, not as fun for playing but a bit more practical for regular use (4 times more practical if we're talking about gas mileage). We just couldn't pass it up $500 and it runs like a song (did I really just say that?). We had to tow it home because the tail lights don't work - it was a little scary (I'm pretty sure the Scout weighs more that Russell's truck) in fact we had the radio turned off almost the whole ride home. Man that was a long ride.

Guess what I got for my birthday!

It's a bread maker! I am so excited! I have really done well in my resolution to quit store-bought bread. I haven't caved once since my post about it. Well, I bought hamburger buns but that doesn't really count, does it? Anyway, I can't wait to use it. Even with a Kitchen Aid, making bread is a mess. I hate messes. I would have thrown in a loaf at lunch but I didn't even have enough flour for the small 1 pound loaf (I used it all in those sugar cookies). It's okay, I haven't gone to the grocery store yet. You better believe flour is on the list! Thank you Mom and Dad, I really love it and I cannot wait to start trying all those new recipes. (You should have seen me ripping the box apart.)

Happy Valentine's Day. We made pizza for our Valentine's day treat. Russell has been asking me every day since we got everything at the grocery store when we were making it. Today was the day. It was tasty. The dough is really easy to make and pretty much fool proof.

Russell was cracking me up. He busted out the map so he could give Eric some directions. Have I mentioned that our friends Eric and Paola are coming to visit? I am so excited. We have a few ideas for things to do but we're going to play it by ear - I think that is the way a vacation should be. Russell and I both have Friday and Monday off so we have a nice extra long weekend to hang out. Did I happen to mention that they are bringing their dog, Max? Otis and Max are best buddies and I think the two of them running around this tiny apartment is going to be hilarious! Anyway, I've got a bit of cleaning up to do before they get here. I also want to make it to the grocery store before they get here. Man, I have a lot to do. They'll be here tomorrow night!

I'm thinking about walking down to Rite Aid to buy some Valentine's candy right now. Do you think it's on sale yet?

What is it about Valentine's Day? Valentine's Day and sugar cookies are two peas in a pod. I just couldn't resist. You know, I really hate making cookies. I'm bad at it. I always burn them. A cake, you only have to take out once and it's in long enough that you can forget about it and check on it a couple times before it burns. Yeah, cakes are what I like to bake. But it's Valentine's Day and frosted sugar cookies with red and pink and white nonpareils are a prerequisite.

I went to Target tonight after work. Why do I love Target? I bought some clean white dishes. I really like them and Russell and I were down to two bowls (I break stuff). I also bought a little brush thingy for Otis. He was cracking us up. He nosed it over to Russell and was practically on top of him.

My friend at work, Steve, told me a funny story today. He said he and his family have been having trouble lately staying for all three hours of church. He said last week he brought some Valentine's candy. Maybe he was thinking it would help them stay the whole time. He opened his bag of conversation hearts and looked down and the heart said, "Go Home." I think he stayed.

By the way, check out my link for Zach's blog. He found a chance to post an update and I'm sure he'd love any comments.

Have I mentioned how much I am loving Netflix? Well, I tell you what, I am loving it. Russell was afraid that the 3 movie option would distract me from school too much (whatever) so we opted for 2 movies at a time. Anyway, I dropped 2 movies off at the Post Office on Monday mid-morning. I got two movies back on Wednesday. I mailed one back on Thursday and I'll get another on Saturday. I'm happy about this. Very happy about this.

Is it too early to start planning your summer vacation? I don't think so. We are heading up to Calgary for a family reunion for the 4th of July (I wonder if they will shoot off fire works). I'm excited because we are going to bring Otis and we're bringing our tent and camping stuff and doesn't it just look so lush and beautiful? Yeah, I'm getting pretty psyched. We googled the drive and it is far but we don't want to take I-15. We want to drive through the mountains, through all the little towns. I can't wait to hit up all those antique stores! I'm going to take a week off and it's going to be a party. I hope they let us build campfires... My mouth is watering thinking about those smores.

They decorated my cubicle at work. It was kind of fun. My friend, Sharon, bought me a little fondue set. I can't wait to try it! I have marshmallows left over from those cookies that I made ready and waiting!

This is the Happy Birthday sign they hung above my monitor. I don't know if you can tell but the little thing in the middle says "5" - they put a post-it at the bottom saying "23."

I scared the you know what out of Tracy in the cubicle next to me. I was behind her with one of these party favors and right as she turned around I blew on it and she just about jumped out of her pants. I really should have thought that out a little bit more - she just found out she has some tachycardia. That could have ended badly...

By the way has anyone else seen the preview for 30 Rock this week. Isabella Rosalini is guest starring and it looks hilarious!

I got a new cd this weekend (thanks to Kimberly's iTunes gift) and it is so fun. I saw Lily Allen on Saturday Night Live and I just thought she was so cute. It's fun and poppy - it's a good wake up in the morning cd, do you know what I mean?

So, I'm 23 today. They decorated my cubicle at work and brought me donuts. It's gonna be a good day...

We went antique store shopping today. There were a few places that I wanted to check out. No luck at any of the antique stores but we did come across this little shop Ten Thousand Villages. It was a cool little place. Lots of little things, nick knacks, you know? We didn't manage to make it out without anything... Russell thought this nativity was really cool and it was marked way down so we couldn't resist. It's made out of soapstone and it's from Kenya. Cool, huh?
Can you believe I bought another bag? I have a problem. It was made in Vietnam.

This tea light holder is made out of Onyx and it's from Pakistan. I'm not quite sure where to put it yet...

I also got a pair of little earrings. They were made in Peru. I'm not sure what kind of stone it is. They are silver with a little white stone and they are flat. They are plain and simple and I love them.

Today was a good day. Nothing major. I just think that if you tell yourself that it can be a good day, it can be. I started carrying with me (everywhere) a little notebook so that when I think of something I need to do, I can write it down right away. Don't you hate that feeling like you are forgetting something because you are trying to keep the list in your head? Anyway, I'm getting off the subject. I had my list of things to do today and somewhere in the middle was car wash/vacuum. I was dreading it all day. I had to go right after work because it gets dark so early. I got there and drove through and prepared myself for the task at hand. You should have seen the Otis hair. Right as I pulled into the parking spot, "Only A Fool Would Say That" came on. What a good song. A summer song, wouldn't you say? I turned it up loud and got to it and it wasn't that bad. I think I might even have been smiling to myself. Oh get real, you know I was singing.


Anyway, I asked Russell to buy me new cookie sheets and a couple of those silpat mats for my birthday and he ordered them today! I am so excited. Is that a weird thing to get excited about?

Russell just kept saying - there's a cookie in bed. I didn't think it was that funny but he was cracking up. There are a few blogs that I will check once in a while (okay, I check them everyday) and a couple different people have dedicated posts to 6 weird things about themselves. I am going to call my habit of eating in bed number one...

1. Yes, I eat in bed and nothing is off limits. Saltines, Ritz crackers, the crumbiest thing you can think of - I'm there.
2. I have weird nighttime rituals. I rub my feet together and rock back and forth to get to sleep. Ask Bride about this one. When we got our bunk bed, I couldn't wait for Dad to put it together and I can't believe it but he let me do it. Yeah it was a bit wobbly. I would shake the whole bed and Bride used to have to ask me to stop. I don't know I'm doing it - weird, huh?
3. I can't do homework unless our apartment is clean. I don't know if it's me avoiding my homework or my OCD coming through. On a similar note, I can never sleep Sunday nights. I get into a crazy cleaning mood like I just want everything to be ready for the week ahead. I don't know.
4. Usually people get better at watching scary movies as they grow up. Not me. I've gotten worse. I will close my eyes and force myself to sleep. Last scary movie - The Omen (the remake) - it started getting weird and I just closed my eyes. Can't do it. Just can't do it.
5. I hate fleece blankets. I hate the way they feel on my skin. Come on, I have really dry skin.
6. I cannot buy a gym membership because I feel too guilty. Yes, I could pay to run on a treadmill and have a convenient little timer right there but I wouldn't be able to take Otis with me and that makes me feel like a big fat jerk. Otis needs exercise, too! (For the record I was NOT always a weirdo dog person like this.)

For good measure I'll add a few more of Russell's ideas - I have to cut my sandwich in half and I have to have chips and I like bologna but I don't like ham (neither of these are weird as far as I'm concerned).

Now that I've spilled my guts I think you should do the same. What's weird about you?

I am going to try to make our bread instead of buying store bought. I think I told you this in an earlier post. Well, I made bread this weekend. It turned out really good. The recipe is really easy too. Originally I wanted to make potato bread but I opted for the Italian instead. Oh, and if you decide to use this recipe don't worry about the preferment. You don't have to do it that way.

I don't think there is anything better than a peanut butter and jam on homemade bread. It's just so much more substantial. Dad used to make us PB&J's on bread maker bread and when I was younger I used to be embarrassed about how big my sandwich was. Not embarrassed enough not to eat it but still embarrassed.

They laugh at me at work because I ask what's for lunch almost everyday. I don't know why, I love hearing what other people are having for lunch. Weird, I know. So let me ask you - What are you having for lunch today?

Check out this totally awesome hat I bought for Russell. It started out as kind of a joke (we have a bad habit of making fun of all these Idahoans). It reminds me of the hat that Elmer Fudd wore. It's red plaid wool on the outside lined with rabbit fur. Yes real rabbit fur. For the record I didn't actually know that when I bought it, not that it would have swayed my decision, I'm just saying it wasn't on purpose. Anyway, I think it's hilarious. Last night he wore it when we took Otis out and when he came in he said, "feel how hot my head is."

I don't know if you can tell how excited I am. I was in the process of adding movies to my brand new Netflx queue! I called Russ today and said let's get Netflix and before I could even give him my well formulated list of reasons Netflix is awesome he said, "I want it too." YAY NETFLIX!

I needed something to cheer me up because today I discovered a hole in my favorite jeans. Bummer. Such a bummer.

I have big baking plans for this weekend. I don't know why but I've been in a baking mood lately. I think it's Valentine's Day... Anyway, I am going to make a few loaves of bread this weekend. Maybe even a couple different recipes. I was thinking about making bread every Saturday - enough for the whole week. We'll see how it goes.